Sadiq Khan launched his bid to win over London’s 450,000-strong Hindu community today with an attack on Labour figures who he claimed “lumped” them together with other Asian voters.

The Labour mayoral hopeful criticised colleagues for allegedly ignoring the differences between separate Asian religious and ethnic groups. He spoke as a Survation poll found that, for the first time, more Hindus voted Tory than Labour at the election, by 49 per cent to 41 per cent. Labour lost out on two of its winnable target seats at the election, Harrow East and Croydon Central, both with large Hindu populations.

Mr Khan said today: “It’s ridiculous to lump together all communities from a continent four times the size of Europe, who have different cultures and beliefs. I believe we have to work to help communities celebrate their own identities within a diverse, open, liberal, multicultural Britain.”

He also said it was a “total disgrace” that the Government’s immigration cap limited the number of Indian students studying at British universities. And he reached out to small business owners — Hindus are more likely than any other group to run their own firm — pledging to be the most pro-business London mayor yet.

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The Tooting MP, who ran Labour’s election campaign in London, has already set out his stall for the capital’s Jewish community, and previously said: “I want to reach out for support from every community, not win by divide and rule.” However, his main rival for the Labour nomination to be next mayor is former Cabinet minister Tessa Jowell, seen by many as a more unifying candidate.

Mr Khan, who has a Muslim background, also talked of his determination to use City Hall’s control of the Metropolitan Police to tackle Islamic extremism. In an article for the Asian Voice newspaper, he said: “Imagine the message sent to the rest of the world who would see a mayor who is a Muslim leading the fight against terrorism and extremism in our city.”

He has brought communications expert Manoj Ladwa, who worked for Indian PM Narendra Modi’s election campaign last year, on to his team.